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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

For those who have been anxiously waiting for FINDING HOME to be released, well you have to wait just a bit longer. But as a thank you for your patience, I have attached the first 8 pages!! You also get a sneak peak at the unofficial book cover.

I am diligently working my way through the edits and putting the finishing touches on things. Could I publish it as is right now? Probably – if I didn’t want to be taken seriously as a writer. BUT … I DO want people to take me seriously. I want people to see that I have put so much love into making this book (which has almost been a 2nd child to me).

I hope you enjoy the teaser and I PROMISE launch date is approaching. It seems there are more technical details I have to fix before I can get it into the proper eBook formats. And for those looking to purchase it in traditional paperback, your wait is still going to be awhile since that road is a little longer to navigate.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me along this journey. I truly appreciate all of you. And I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate AMANDA BRUSSEAU on winning a FREE copy of FINDING HOME for being the first (and so far only) person to sign up as a member of my blog. Much thanks!!!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

My momentum is picking up as of late. I realized the other night that I am past the half way point in the final edits for FINDING HOME. That means the end of this phase is near. All I can say is FINALLY!!! It’s taken 2 ½ years to get here, but before I know it I can add the hat of “published romance writer” to my hat rack.

I find it kind of funny really. So many times you think you will never “get there” only to find out how close ‘there’ really is. Case in point, for the last few months I’ve been in a funk. We’ve all been in them before (even the peppy people we just want to slap have been down before, otherwise they wouldn’t really know what being up is about). Anyways, this funk of mine was the compiling kind. I was feeling this, which made me think this, which then made me feel that – you get the picture. Serenity seemed out of reach, at least for another few months.

Yet in one day I not only crawled out of the funk, I actually lept back on track. Now my family will all vouch that I am not normal and like to do things considered ‘out of the box’. But sometimes looking outside is just what is needed. I found what I was looking for last week with a visit to this great place in Sylvania, Ohio called Harmony in Life. That is where I received a reiki session and I have to say I feel healed, or at least on my way to healing.

For those who don’t know what reiki is, I strongly suggest you at least look into it. It is energy work that helps unblock anything that could be holding you back – from a health standpoint or even a mental barrier. I knew I was a bundle of gunk going in, but I came out feeling much better. And you better believe I will be going for a tune-up more often than 7 years!

Reiki is one of my things. What is yours? What is that thing that helps you get back on track? To regain sight of your goals? What gives you clarity? For everyone it is different, that is the beauty of free will.

I encourage anyone who reads this to find that special something that will help you stay the course long enough to finally “get there”. Good luck along the way, I’ll see you around the bend!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

I love that word. I love being and feeling tenacious. Some choose to see the meaning as synonymous with stubbornness or being opinionated. I see it as persistence and being tough enough to hang in there to reach a goal.

I read this great article today that really hit home that when you know what you want, never settle, never give up. Too many times in life I can see where I have abandoned my tenacity. This is really a shame when you think about it. I’ve let fear deter me from my course - or courses if you look at how many times I’ve changed my life.

I tell myself that fear is nothing more than false events appearing real. It is nothing more than my overactive imagination expecting the worst. It doesn’t help that I’ve lived by that motto most of my life – hope for the best but expect the worst. I think it’s safe to say the saying has done more harm than good.

Each day I don’t write, I allow fear to grow stronger. However, if I were to sit and list the fears I would see how laughable most are. At that point I would run out of excuses not to finish what I’ve started.

A great case in point is the aforementioned article which tells how another writer was rejected 60 times before she found an agent who had faith in her writing. Those 60 morons are probably kicking themselves now that she’s not only the best selling author of The Help but that the book is about to be released as a movie starring Emma Stone in theaters this weekend!

I have only been rejected once with my writing. The second time doesn’t count because of a technicality. It wasn’t my fault the publisher changed their submissions guidelines while my query letter was being sent! But then the Tenacious Amy came out and I thought, ‘why am I allowing someone else to decide if and when my book gets published?’

Hence the self-publishing route I am now on. In my persistent drive I have not only cut out the middleman, but I have also cut away any safety net to catch me. It’s me, standing alone, with my goal in sight at the other end of this tight rope. One false move and I could lose it. Or I can take one step at a time and know every inch, as small and insignificant as it feels some times, is still leading me toward my desired destination.

So go ahead and call it stubbornness or even stupidity if you’d like. Because really, what kind of living can you make off writing cheap romance novels for lonely women?

To you, my friend, I say have a look at the numbers. The romance genre is one of the industries to have actually GROWN during this recession. People like to believe there is hope, even if it comes in fiction form. So they are who I write for, they are who see themselves in my heroines. The strong, vivacious, and tenacious women I create on paper may seem fake to some, but I know otherwise. They reflect me, my family and my friends - my tenacious clan of women.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Welcome to my first official blog post! Now, I have blogged before, however I never told anyone my page or that I was doing it so my viewers equaled only myself! But THIS blog I want people to see. This is where I keep my readers (or future readers) informed on what's going on with my writing.

I must admit that the few hours spent writing and editing this page is the most writing I have done in several weeks, which is pretty counter-productive since there is a book I need to finish editing before I can publish it! I have readily accepted throughout my life that I am a procrastinator, but that has suddenly become a bad thing when it is keeping me from being able to live out my dream as a full time writer. The proverbial "someday" just isn't good enough for me anymore. Why not now? What's so wrong with getting anything done today?Before I go getting all philosophical or too long winded (which I've been known to do on a regular basis), I want to thank you for reading this first post and I hope you will come back again soon.

I think this blog will be a great way to call myself out. Nobody likes it when people point out your flaws, it's even worse to do it to yourself to the entire web. But if I have to face myself in order to get out of my own way and stop procrastinating then I will.

For now I say good night. I am off to sleep then on to the new day. I'm going to sleep with the ambition that tomorrow will be productive and that I'll get more than a page or two done.